Just got this and two other ancients a couple of days ago, I will be posting full write-ups on the others soon. Meanwhile, please enjoy this: Roman Empire. Phoenicia, Berytos. Elagabalus (218- 222 AD). AE 25. Obverse: Laureate bust of Elagabalus right. Reverse: The satyr Marsyas standing in four-columned (tetrastyle) temple, holding wineskin over shoulder. Elagabalus was born around 203 AD and raised in Emesa, Syria. His grandmother, Julia Maesa, was the sister-in law of the emperor Septimius Severus. Despite his youth he became a priest of a locally important god, Elagabal, from which his most commonly used name Elagabalus is derived. (His original birth name is not certain, and he reigned as Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus.) In 217, Caracalla was killed by Macrinus, who exiled Julia Maesa and her family to their Syrian estate. From there, she was able to organize the overthrow and death of Macrinus, and had her grandson named emperor in 218. The new emperor instituted worship of Elagabal at Rome and showed little interest in the traditional gods. Overall, he showed exactly as much maturity and restraint as you would expect for a teenager suddenly given virtually unlimited resources and authority. He spent lavishly on luxuries and parties, often giving outrageously expensive gifts. (At one dinner party, he allegedly had so many flower petals dropped on the guests that some were smothered to death.) He was married and divorced five times; one of his wives was a Vestal Virgin, which was extremely illegal under Roman law, but who would dare to prosecute him? He also had several male lovers, and some sources claim he dabbled as a male prostitute. There are quite a few vivid stories of him in the ancient sources, many of them unprintable here, and while many of these stories may be false or exaggerated, they paint a consistent portrait of a thoroughly debauched young man who had no business being in power. By 222, Elagabalus's grandmother could sense the growing unhappiness with his reign, and she had him murdered, and her other grandson, Severus Alexander, took over the throne. The reverse of this coin shows the satyr Marsyas standing in a four-columned temple. Marsyas was renowned for his abilities as a musician on the aulos (a paired double-reed instrument with a rather mournful sound- check out the videos on Youtube for the keyword "aulos"). Unfortunately, Marsyas forgot the Three Rules for Not Being Horribly Punished by the Gods. Rule 1: Don't challenge a god in a contest. Marsyas challenged the god Apollo to a music contest, with Marsyas on aulos and Apollo on his customary lute. Rule 2: If you do challenge a god in a contest, don't let the judges also be gods. The contest was judged by the Muses. Rule 3: If for some reason you have challenged a god to a contest where the judges are also gods, don't sign off on a vague agreement about the prize that allows the god to do horrible things to you. Marsyas, against all reason, agreed that the winner could do whatever he liked to the loser. The actual contest was close, with Marsyas seeming like he could win, until Apollo (depending on which version of the legend you follow) either turned his lute upside down and continued to play, or started to sing along with his playing. Either way, Marsyas could not follow suit on the aulos, and complained to the Muses, but to no avail. Apollo was declared the winner, and he proceeded to flay Marsyas and hang his skin from a tree, which naturally caused Marsyas to die. Marsyas is sometimes shown in ancient art carrying his own flayed skin (much like the later Christian Saint Bartholomew), or else, as on this coin, carrying a large wineskin over his back. (I guess the wineskin could be made out of his own skin, if you want to be gory about it.) If you look very closely at the upraised hand of Marsyas on this coin, you can see he is holding the aulos that gave him so much grief in the end. This coin was minted in the city of Berytos in Phoenicia, which still exists as Beirut, Lebanon. I bought it from Marc Breitsprecher (Ancient Imports), who notes in his description "A very decent coin for this generally rough issue."
Great coin, great write-up, and what a CREEP of a person that Elagablus brat was! I have one of him and one of his 5 wives you mentioned: The Creep: RI Elagabalus 218-222 CE AR Antoninianus Radiate Roma seated One Victim: RI Julia Aquila Severa 220-222 CE AE 4th Wife Elagabalus
Here's Marsyas on the reverse of this Tranquillina provincial from Deultum in Thrace: AE 24 mm; 8.0 gm Moushmov 3757; Yourukova 425, 4/II; SNG Copenhagen 549 (var).
Great write up. Phyrgia, Apameia Coin: Bronze - Turreted head of Artemis as Tyche right, bow and quiver over shoulder APAME ARISTA KHFIS - to right and left of Marsyas, walking right on maeander pattern, naked but for cloak behind, playing the double flute. Mint: Apameia (133-48 BC) Wt./Size/Axis: 6.41g / 17mm / - References: Weber 7030 BMC 47 Mionnet Supp. VII 143 SNG von Aulock 3472 SNG Tuebingen 3973
